I was a huge Expos fan back in the day, but am currently supporting the Jays while we wait to get our team back. I agree that the success of the Jays has a direct impact on the attractiveness of Montreal as an MLB market. A Montreal baseball team will never be as popular, profitable or rich as a Toronto team, but it should definitely trend in the same direction. I definitely think that a Montreal team can be roughly in the middle of the pack on those metrics, while the Jays are increasingly becoming a big market team.

I attended the first week of Blue Jays spring training this year, and there was definitely a good mix of people from around the country there. Anyone who is a baseball fan who has never gone to spring training really should make a point of going. Most of the Tampa area is a sprawly mess, but Dunedin, where the Blue Jays are located, is a very nice, walkable town (and relatively unspoiled by big condos and hotels).

I was a huge Expos fan back in the day, but am currently supporting the Jays while we wait to get our team back. I agree that the success of the Jays has a direct impact on the attractiveness of Montreal as an MLB market. A Montreal baseball team will never be as popular, profitable or rich as a Toronto team, but it should definitely trend in the same direction. I definitely think that a Montreal team can be roughly in the middle of the pack on those metrics, while the Jays are increasingly becoming a big market team.

I was reading the only thing holding Montreal back now from being at the top of the expansion list is the need for a new stadium. I was too young to remember ever seeing the Jays play the Expos, I'd love to see that rivalry revived.

This just proves how ready and deserving is of Montreal getting a team back. these must be some of the largest spring training attendance numbers on record for the MLB.

Am I the only one who sees the irony in the fact that Montreal is seen as a shoo-in for MLB even though they don't have a stadium (or any commitment for one), no ownership group, a below average for Canamerica local interest in baseball, an alarmingly dismal attendance track record for the former Expos, and a whole bunch of other strikes against them.

OTOH, Quebec City can't get back in the NHL in spite of the fact it has a new NHL calibre arena, a solid owner lined up, extremely high levels of interest, an excellent attendance track record with the Nords, tons of seat reservation deposits and likely sellouts for many years, lucrative TV contracts a certainty...

Am I the only one who sees the irony in the fact that Montreal is seen as a shoo-in for MLB even though they don't have a stadium (or any commitment for one), no ownership group, a below average for Canamerica local interest in baseball, an alarmingly dismal attendance track record for the former Expos, and a whole bunch of other strikes against them.
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No city in North America is more prepared to welcome a Major League Baseball franchise, right now, than Montreal. If you’re surprised that I would make such a statement, then you must’ve missed the half-dozen hosannas I’ve written in support of Montreal as a baseball city.

To summarize: Montreal has well-documented passion for professional sports, including baseball. The city has drawn an average of more than 48,000 fans per game to Toronto Blue Jays exhibitions in 2014 and 2015; advance ticket sales are even more robust for this year’s series between Toronto and Boston. The Warren Cromartie-led Montreal Baseball Project and Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre have continued their passionate advocacy. Prospective owners commissioned a feasibility study for a major-league franchise in Montreal, with encouraging results. Olympic Stadium could host a major-league team for two or three seasons while a new ballpark is built.

Of note, Montreal is the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. or Canada without a Major League Baseball franchise.

Montreal is ready — for the relocated Rays or an expansion franchise. The latter option can’t materialize until the first possibility is exhausted. So, for now, the city waits — while trying to sustain momentum that can’t last forever.

1. Montreal
2. Austin
3. Vancouver (which I think has dropped down the list this year behind cities like Portland Or)
4. Mexico City

Yeah, looking at the list above, it's pretty clear that there are essentially no (viable) untapped markets in North America. Some have suggested Mexico, Puerto Rico and a couple other Latin American locales but most people are very dubious on that prospect and for good reason.

So, yes, given the scarcity of landing spots, Montreal looks awfully good. However, even as an old Expos' fan, I'm not sure how successful it would be. I mean, looking at it objectively, how could Montreal compete for free agents? How could they get their young talent to stick around? Would it not just be a repeat of the same old thing from the past? Draft. Develop. Sell. Repeat. That memory is still fresh for many in baseball.

The Rays to Montreal is such a perfect fit. AL East against natural rivals Boston, Toronto and to a lesser extent NY. The Toronto Montreal rivalry would be intense enough to help sustain both franchises, especially in the MLB where divisions truly matter.

Major downside is that the Yankees and Red Sox are such juggernauts it's hard to compete with them on a constant basis leading to fan apathy. See Jays mid 90s till recently. This is where a Jays Expos side rivalry would help spice things up while the Yankees and Red Sox dominate the division.

Am I the only one who sees the irony in the fact that Montreal is seen as a shoo-in for MLB even though they don't have a stadium (or any commitment for one), no ownership group, a below average for Canamerica local interest in baseball, an alarmingly dismal attendance track record for the former Expos, and a whole bunch of other strikes against them.

OTOH, Quebec City can't get back in the NHL in spite of the fact it has a new NHL calibre arena, a solid owner lined up, extremely high levels of interest, an excellent attendance track record with the Nords, tons of seat reservation deposits and likely sellouts for many years, lucrative TV contracts a certainty...

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Perhaps the MLB could work again in MTL, who knows. But the NHL in QC would be a guaranteed success and they're ready tomorrow, not a decade down the road.

The Rays to Montreal is such a perfect fit. AL East against natural rivals Boston, Toronto and to a lesser extent NY. The Toronto Montreal rivalry would be intense enough to help sustain both franchises, especially in the MLB where divisions truly matter.

Major downside is that the Yankees and Red Sox are such juggernauts it's hard to compete with them on a constant basis leading to fan apathy. See Jays mid 90s till recently. This is where a Jays Expos side rivalry would help spice things up while the Yankees and Red Sox dominate the division.

To me, the real question is why MLB would want a team in Montreal. What's the upside? What sort of revenue could Montreal earn for MLB? What sort of league-wide interest would there be in seeing baseball return to Montreal?

And just as important, why would the Jays want the Expos to return? They spent the entirety of those 25-odd years (1977-2004) essentially trying to drive them out of the market. They even voted to contract the Expos in 2001. The Jays playing pre-season baseball in Montreal is about drumming up support for them, not reinvigorating interest in the 'Spos (though that aim has been inadvertently achieved obviously).

As always, MLB (and all professional sports leagues - see Seattle, Houston, KC, Quebec, Hamilton [NHL]) needs a potential landing spot to use as a threat against cities who are reluctant to spend public monies on sports stadia. For decades in baseball, that spot was Florida and to a lesser extent Arizona. Now I suspect it's Montreal's turn to play that role as Tampa, Oakland, etc. struggle to build new infrastructure.

Am I the only one who sees the irony in the fact that Montreal is seen as a shoo-in for MLB even though they don't have a stadium (or any commitment for one), no ownership group, a below average for Canamerica local interest in baseball, an alarmingly dismal attendance track record for the former Expos, and a whole bunch of other strikes against them.

OTOH, Quebec City can't get back in the NHL in spite of the fact it has a new NHL calibre arena, a solid owner lined up, extremely high levels of interest, an excellent attendance track record with the Nords, tons of seat reservation deposits and likely sellouts for many years, lucrative TV contracts a certainty...

They aren't a shoo-in. Just a few boosters claim they are. For the past 3 years or so there has been serious talk of the Expos coming back to Montreal (probable candidate would be Tampa) but the discussion of a new stadium has gone absolutely nowhere. Until that changes, talk of the Expos coming back will be just that.

They aren't a shoo-in. Just a few boosters claim they are. For the past 3 years or so there has been serious talk of the Expos coming back to Montreal (probably candidate would be Tampa) but the discussion of a new stadium has gone absolutely nowhere. Until that changes, talk of the Expos coming back will be just that.

It seems to me that talk about MLB in Montreal is really more about nostalgia than about an actual love for baseball among Montrealers.

Don't get me wrong, if there was actual, genuine interest I think Montreal would have a team tomorrow. But a simple yearning for the past, basking in memories of eating peanuts under a clear blue sky at the Big O while cheering for Andre Dawson or whoever probably isn't going to convince anyone to pony up well over a billion dollars for a franchise and a new stadium.

No city in North America is more prepared to welcome a Major League Baseball franchise, right now, than Montreal. If you’re surprised that I would make such a statement, then you must’ve missed the half-dozen hosannas I’ve written in support of Montreal as a baseball city.

To summarize: Montreal has well-documented passion for professional sports, including baseball. The city has drawn an average of more than 48,000 fans per game to Toronto Blue Jays exhibitions in 2014 and 2015; advance ticket sales are even more robust for this year’s series between Toronto and Boston. The Warren Cromartie-led Montreal Baseball Project and Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre have continued their passionate advocacy. Prospective owners commissioned a feasibility study for a major-league franchise in Montreal, with encouraging results. Olympic Stadium could host a major-league team for two or three seasons while a new ballpark is built.

Of note, Montreal is the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. or Canada without a Major League Baseball franchise.

Montreal is ready — for the relocated Rays or an expansion franchise. The latter option can’t materialize until the first possibility is exhausted. So, for now, the city waits — while trying to sustain momentum that can’t last forever.

1. Montreal
2. Austin
3. Vancouver (which I think has dropped down the list this year behind cities like Portland Or)
4. Mexico City

I think people read too much into those well-attended Blue Jays games in Montreal.

Montreal is very much a shiny object "event" type of city. The Jays games are "events" and hyped up as much.

Another example is the French soccer league's Trophée des Champions. It's a game played between the winners of two different championships in France. Including the top winner of the first division. Kind of like a Super Cup that many countries have. Anyway France likes to move this game around the world and has played it twice in Montreal over the past decade or so. It drew 35k to the Big O once, and also sold out Saputo another time a few years later, so 21k. This same type of Trophée match drew 15k at the Red Bull stadium near NYC.

Back to baseball... a healthy MLB franchise needs to average between 25-30k a game. It's very unclear that this level of consistent support for a baseball team exists, game in and game out, in Montreal and even in the wider area (across Quebec).

It seems to me that talk about MLB in Montreal is really more about nostalgia than about an actual love for baseball among Montrealers.

Don't get me wrong, if there was actual, genuine interest I think Montreal would have a team tomorrow. But a simple yearning for the past, basking in memories of eating peanuts under a clear blue sky at the Big O while cheering for Andre Dawson or whoever probably isn't going to convince anyone to pony up well over a billion dollars for a franchise and a new stadium.

The reality is that Montreal isn't really one of those great sports towns where people bleed with their teams through thick and thin. Except for the Habs... and even then people turn on them incredibly quickly.

If the Montreal Expos aren't part of Canadiana I don't know what is. I remember my teacher bringing a TV into the classroom in Grade 6 so we could watch the playoff games. That would probably be totally off-limits these days, but it is one of those childhood memories I have.

That said, MLB coming back to Montreal looks nice from a design and aesthetics standpoint, but it just seems totally foolhardy from a financial viability standpoint.

Montreal is ready — for the relocated Rays or an expansion franchise. The latter option can’t materialize until the first possibility is exhausted. So, for now, the city waits — while trying to sustain momentum that can’t last forever.

1. Montreal
2. Austin
3. Vancouver (which I think has dropped down the list this year behind cities like Portland Or)
4. Mexico City

Did Portland build a new stadium?. The Vancouver crowds in Seattle, it coyld be argued, shows the best case for which city would support MLB.

And just as important, why would the Jays want the Expos to return? They spent the entirety of those 25-odd years (1977-2004) essentially trying to drive them out of the market.

This statement is just absurd. Yes the Jays voted in line with the rest of the league to relocate the Expos but it was a failing team back then and it was a business based decision. To say the Jays spent their first 25 years trying to drive out the Expos could not be further from the truth.